Do You Know About The Indian In The Cupboard?

I don't know how many of you know about this delightful little book, The Indian in the Cupboard, but our children's librarian, Miss Norma, has selected the book as her Children's Book Pick for February. Written in 1980 by British author Lynne Reid Banks, it is a Junior Read about a young boy, who discovers that when he locks a toy plastic Iroquois Indian in an old bathroom cupboard, the figure comes to life.
The boy, Omri, got the cupboard from his brother for his birthday. If used in conjunction with a key that had been his great-grandmother's and the plastic Indian from his friend Patrick, the combination brings the spirit of historical people forward in time, where they are imposed within plastic toys. The Indian turns out to be from the 19th century and is called Little Bear (although some renditions call him "Little Bull"). Patrick finds out about the cupboard and this leads to more trouble when he brings a cowboy, Boone, into the present. Between the Indian wounding the cowboy, the magical key getting lost, and Omri's brother's pet rat escaping, the story never ceases to excite the reader.
This was such a wonderful book that it was made into a movie in 1995 with the same title and starred Hal Scardino, Litefoot, Lindsay Crouse, David Keith and Rishi Bhat. The film marked the debut of Litefoot, a Cherokee rap music performer. The movie's running time is 96 minutes and rated PG. A DVD was released July 3, 2001. And it's such a famous story there is even a trivia game about it at www.kidsreads.com/funstuff/trivia/indian01.asp.
But there's more!!! In The Return of the Indian (1985), Omri discovers that any container can be made magic if locked with the leaden key. In this book he and his friend, Patrick, travel back in time contemporaneous with the Indian and the cowboy, where they discover Little Bear's village is in danger.
In The Secret of the Indian (1989), Omri and Patrick find a way to go back in time using a chest. Patrick ends up in the cowboy's time and must find a way to survive.
The Mystery of the Cupboard (1992) tells how Omri and Patrick learn the origin of the magic key and its history of time travel. And they learn about Jenny, Elsie, Bert, and numerous other historical plastic figures who have been moved in time, including Omri's "wicked" great-great aunt. In the end, Omri's father finds out about the "little people" and is let in on their adventures.
The final book is The Key to the Indian (1998), where Omri and his father have to help the Indian when his people are threatened with annihilation by American colonists; can twentieth-century British allies help them - or should they even try?
So, there you are!!! A wonderful book to read. In fact, several. And a movie. And a DVD.
You can find The Indian in the Cupboard in the children's library. Or you can find it and the other books by Lynne Reid Banks in the PINES catalog and place your order. They are great stories!!!